bM Leather Wood Willow

A hard wearing and natural blog

High Class VW Campervan Restorers – wow! I love the VW campervan, especially the T1 and T2, so imagine how chuffed I was to be contacted by Mark Ritson, the director of Morecambe and Wize – Classic Vw Campervan Builders. They find old, battered, rusty, knackered vans and restore them to a level that is outstanding. They’re the ...

This guide will explain how to get a great finish on your leather. Plus I’m including a secret recipe for my Morgan Leather Balm! If you don’t have all the ingredients then you can buy a tin of the golden stuff direct from me www.morganleather.co.uk/morgan-leather-balm.html The Recipe You’ll need: 1 part Linseed Oil 1 part Neatsfoot Oil 1 part ...

I’m always looking at how my designs could be improved. Checkout my latest billhook sheath design… Copper Protector The first major new development is the use of copper to protect the edge of the leather when inserting extremely sharp billhooks. The soft copper won’t dull the blade and gives it a very satisfying sounds as ...

In August I was lucky enough to visit Britain’s last oak-bark tannery. They produce top quality leather from Devon’s finest cows using the ancient technique of soaking the hides in oak bark and water. And the great thing is, I peel oak bark with the Coppice Association NW and then sell it to the tannery. So ...

I spent a week at Woodland Pioneers with Ruth Pybus and David Brown learning an ancient and almost lost art of splitting strips of hazel from a rod and then weaving them into a frame basket. Ruth and David have spent the last few years researching and trying to find out how these traditional baskets were made. No ...

I’ve been working on a new mini wallet that slips easily into any pocket and is big enough for credit cards, business cards and paper money. This one I made from some old leather I’d previously made a failed project with. The weathered look is really appealing, so I looked for some other scraps/secondhand pieces, ...

I’m creating a mailing list so I can occasionally send out news and offers about my leather, willow and greenwood work. I’m inviting you to subscribe! If you subscribe you’ll be entered into a free prize draw! 1st Prize: A solid, handmade belt. 2nd Prize: A leather notebook. 3rd Prize: £10 discount on anything in my shop ...

Learn how to make hard wearing sheaths for your woodworking tools by coming on one of my courses. Last week I ran a two day course with six BHMAT apprentices at the Coppice Co-op‘s wood yard. They did an amazing job making 4 billhook sheaths, 2 chisel sheaths, 3 belts, 1 timber tongue sheath and a double-headed ...

I had a fantastic day today at the Coppice Co-op’s yard, showing three wonderful people how to make traditional round willow baskets. Thanks Eric, Helen and Graeme for making it so much fun! And you made some excellent baskets!